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Egyptian Antiquities :
Egyptian Ushabtis : Faience Ushabti of the 26th Dynasty
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Faience Ushabti of the 26th Dynasty - CK.0045
Origin: Egypt
Circa: 664
BC
to 525
BC
Dimensions:
4.625" (11.7cm) high
x 1.375" (3.5cm) wide
Collection: Egyptian
Medium: Faience
Additional Information: SOLD
$1,800.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
The 26th Dynasty, also known as the
Saite
Period, is traditionally placed by
scholars at the
end of the Third Intermediate Period or
at the
beginning of the Late Dynastic Period.
In either
case, the Saite Period rose from the
ashes of a
decentralized Egyptian state that had
been
ravaged by foreign occupation. Supported
by the
assistance of a powerful family centered
in the
Delta town of Sais, the Assyrians
finally drove
the Nubians out of Egypt. At the close
of this
campaign, Ashurbanipal’s kingdom was at
the
height of its power; however, due to
civil strife
back east, he was forced to withdraw his
forces
from Egypt. Psamtik I, a member of the
family
from Sais, seized this opportunity to
assert his
authority over the entire Nile Valley
and found
his own dynasty, the 26th of Egyptian
history.
Known as the Saite Period due to the
importance
of the capital city Sais, the 26th
Dynasty, like
many before it, sought to emulate the
artistic
styles of past pharaohs in order to
bolster their
own claims to power and legitimize their
authority.
Faience, which dates back to predynastic
times,
at least 5,000 years, is a glasslike
non-clay
substance made of materials common to
Egypt:
ground quartz, crushed quartz pebbles,
flint, a
soluble salt-like baking soda, lime and
ground
copper, which provided the
characteristic color.
The dried objects went into kilns
looking pale
and colorless but emerged a sparkling
"Egyptian
blue." Called tjehnet by the Ancient
Egyptians,
meaning that which is brilliant or
scintillating,
faience was thought to be filled with
the undying
light of the sun, moon and stars and was
symbolic of rebirth. Ancient Egyptians
believed
the small blue-green objects helped
prepare
them for eternity in the afterlife.
Perhaps no single object epitomizes the
spirit
of ancient Egypt better than the
ushabti.
Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti
evokes the magical side of Egyptian
belief in
an afterlife. The two hoes clutched in
the
hands and the basket carried on the back
recall the rural, agrarian culture of
the land.
The word ushabti (supplanting the older
term
shawabti) literally means "the
answerer." The
function of these little figures is
described in
Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead: "O
this
Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called
upon to do
hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I
am
here." The ushabti was expected to
answer
the call to work in place of the
deceased, and
this passage was frequently inscribed on
the
figures themselves. Originally, a single
ushabti
was placed in any given tomb. But by the
New
Kingdom the statues had come to be
regarded
as servants and slaves for the deceased,
rather than as a substitute. Many have
been
found buried together, along with an
overseer
figure. In the course of Egyptian
history,
ushabti were created from wood, stone,
metal
and faience. In the cultural renaissance
of the
XXVIth Dynasty (Saite period), a green
faience, the color of the Nile and
evocative of
the verdant landscape in springtime, was
particularly popular. To look upon an
ushabti is
to come face to face with the mystery
and
magic of Egypt itself.
- (CK.0045)
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